‘May 2024 exceed your expectations!’

Andries Wiese, national business development manager, Hollard

This past year was not an easy one. As we turn the page to 2024, which will no doubt hold even more challenges, we are proud to say that we did what we, proverbially, say on the box.

Where insured clients suffered losses, faced fires and floods or were involved in accidents, insurers stood up to help them through their trauma.

We made sure that the losses were made good and individuals, businesses and farmers could continue to do what they do best.

Our agriculture sector deserves plaudits for the incredible way they continue to feed our people and grow our capacity as a country.

Whether you plough and plant, raise animals, grow vegetables and fruit or you have found that niche commodity that only grows on your farm, we are with you. Whether you have expanded into exporting, added hospitality or game farming, your insurer must be there in there ensuring and insuring that which is important to your business.

Insurance is not a silver bullet but an integral part of your financial planning and risk management strategy. A looming election, climate uncertainty, logistical challenges, exchange rate variables and geopolitical uncertainty will be a part of the new year. It goes without saying that you should review your circumstances and mitigate against any eventualities. Being prepared is better than trying to piece what’s left together after a loss.

As you take this time of the year to connect with loved ones, reflect on your business and what you need to sleep better at night. The things worrying you can and should be addressed by your insurer.

May 2023 end well for you and your loved ones, and may 2024 exceed your expectations.

HOW DID THE PAST YEAR FARE IN THE EQUIPMENT INDUSTRY?

Industry-wide there were big differences. Sales were mostly down from last year, but this was expected due to the high increase in purchases the previous year. There were also machines that were delivered late due to shipping problems, so with many farmers only receiving their equipment late in 2023, we don’t expect an increase in sales for 2024 across the industry.

WHAT ABOUT THE PROSPECTS OF THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY’S UPTAKE OF TECHNOLOGY?

It’s very positive. The good harvest of the last few years means many farmers have already switched to equipment that has precision technology. But this is mostly in the high-kilowatt category, and we are yet to see smaller farmers make the switch. But with technology becoming more affordable, we expect sales to increase. We have already seen our financing programmes that allow farmers to finance the VAT and then claim it back within a few months make a big difference to the affordability of machines.

Around 2% of emerging farmers transition to commercial farming each year. While this can be an opportunity to increase uptake of more efficient equipment, the lack of land ownership does hinder financing. So, there is still a lot of work to do in this regard.

WHERE DO FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES LIE?

There is an opportunity to increase the uptake of precision, and more efficient equipment among small-scale and emerging farmers. I believe Zimbabwe has a good model which we can replicate. They have knowledgeable contractors that have all the implements that are needed to service farms of 8ha to 10ha. The contractor decides on when and how planting, spraying and harvesting must be done because they have the knowledge, so the contractor then also serves as the consultant. Because of the success achieved through the combination of knowledge and the right equipment, it’s only a few seasons until the farmers can afford their own implements and run the farm by themselves.

We also see a lot of opportunity for greater use of our CR twin axial rotor combine harvester. It was the only piece of equipment to receive a gold medal at last year’s AgriTechnica expo in Germany. Its twin rotor action is the best in the world and although it is not new, it continues to bring results. This shows that we can bank on our technology.

ARE THERE ANY NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN 2024 TO LOOK FORWARD TO?

We are in a developing country but our farmers need First World products. In this regard, farmers can look forward to the T6 Methane Power tractor that is to be launched.

This is the world’s first 100% methanepowered production tractor. So farmers can use waste products to generate biomethane to power the tractor, saving on fuel costs.